Sandy Beach Media's Idiots (Interpreting the AOL-Time Warner Merger Case)

Author: (USA) Monk
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: On January 10, 2001, Monday, AOL announced the acquisition of Time Warner for $163 billion. People were amazed and called the merged company the "super aircraft carrier" of the media industry. On September 17, 2003, AOL-Time Warner announced that it would change its company name back to Time Warner, and the company logo was also changed from the original AOL logo to the Time Warner logo before the merger. "I've never cried in my career, but now I cry often." —Jerry Levin On January 10, 2001, Monday, AOL announced the acquisition of Time Warner for $163 billion. The news was so crazy that it was hard to believe. The media called it the largest merger in history, a "terrible super-merger" and a "combination of courage and honor," and the "century-old merger" was hailed as the "super marriage of Earth and the Internet." AOL was a new force in the internet world, and it acquired the world's largest entertainment media company. Two years later, the fog lifted, and the $20 billion in wealth of shareholders vanished into the digital space. Due to suspected fraud, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating the financial situation of AOL-Time Warner. Time Warner's "eternal genius" Jerry Levin lost his job and reputation. AOL's idealistic leader Steve Case was nearly forced to leave the company he founded. On September 17, 2003, AOL-Time Warner announced that it would change its company name back to Time Warner, and the company logo was also changed from the original AOL logo to the Time Warner logo before the merger. Time Warner remains the world's largest media and entertainment company today. (The Saps Who Stormed the Media) Faithfully records the largest failure in the history of U.S. mergers. Monk uses every detail she knows to portray the entire collapse process. This book aims to seriously interpret the AOL-Time Warner merger case and thoroughly investigate the completed and unfinished details.